Quatro: Support
by corneroffandom
Summary: Alberto's Valentine's Day isn't that great. The others try to help with that.


The house is quiet. Alberto Del Rio grunts, hating it. He has to leave later to fly out for Raw, but until then, he has nothing to occupy him. The internet isn't much fun either, everyone talking about Valentine's Day and their significant others, while he's stuck in Florida, his ring announcer in India, teaching and learning and doing everything that he's wanted to do for years. Alberto sighs and listens to Sofia bustling around in the kitchen, envying her being able to keep busy.

He's just about dozed off when he hears something outside, the console by the door beeping as it does when someone is trying to contact the house to be allowed in without the code to unlock the gate. He groans and sits up, thinking he already knows. Sofia is half way to the door but he shakes his head, beating her to the button. "What do you want?" he snaps, unsurprised at the response. At _who_ responds.

"Hey, bro," Zack Ryder greets him. "Can we come in?"

Alberto hits his head against the wall, certain that Ricardo had meant well, urging this group of misfits to visit him sometimes while he was in India, but damn. _Valentine's Day?_ Really...? "Fine," he grits out, pressing the button and allowing them in. Unlocking the door and actually letting them inside his house makes him even angrier but he loses track of his feelings as he stares at the box that Heath Slater is carrying, Wade Barrett shrugging sympathetically at his League of Nations mate as they walk into the living room behind Dolph Ziggler and Zack.

Rockstar Spud and EC3 enter next and Alberto stares at them impassively, closing his door behind them. It's difficult to find the strength to walk into the living room but he does so after a few moments, squaring his shoulders and watching as Sofia offers them drinks and snacks, smiling at Spud before she heads back into the kitchen. Alberto rolls his eyes before walking into the room and sinking onto his couch, looking from person to person. "So," he says slowly. "What do you all want with me now?"

Zack chuckles awkwardly, nudging Heath forward, and the leader of the Social Outcasts glares back at them all before facing Albert. "Alright, well, Ricardo was feelin' bad about not bein' home for Valentine's Day so he sent us this." Shuffling a few more steps closer, Heath rests the box in Alberto's outstretched arms before returning to the others. "He hopes this makes the wait for him to return a little easier."

Alberto sits there and stares at the box before looking back up at them. They thankfully seem to take the hint and murmur some sort of excuse before leaving the room to scatter around the house. Alberto breathes out once they're gone and slowly opens the box, smelling a soft, earthy scent before reaching in. There's a letter on top and he weighs his options, finally opening the note to find Ricardo's sloppy, but beautiful handwriting.

 _Hola, El Patron. I don't have much time to write this and get this mailed out hopefully in time to arrive for Valentine's Day, so I apologize for this. I hope you and Sofia are well, and that you're not taking the loss of the US title too hard. I'm sure you're doing everything you can to regain it but there is no shame in losing to Kalisto. Anyway, I love you and I will be home soon. Happy Valentine's Day._  
 _Yours,_  
 _Ricardo_

Alberto closes his eyes, a painful smile crossing his face at the words, before putting it down and reaching into the box. His eyes widen as his fingers brush against soft fabric. "Ay dios mio, Ricardo, what is this?" Pulling it out, he stares at the beautiful kurta pajama flowing through his fingers, swallowing. It's soft, and warm, and he can only imagine how it would feel against his skin. Hissing out a breath, he reaches back into the box to find a scarf made from coconut silk, and a box of sandalwood soap, which explains the scent wafting from the box fairly well.

He knows he should find the others, thank them, but right now he's just too tired, too worn through emotionally. So he puts the things back in the box, folds the letter up gently, and walks down the hall to his bedroom to be alone for awhile.

-x

Ethan somehow gets separated from Spud. Which is weird, considering Alberto's house is a bit smaller than his own (though it far exceeds his own when he compares their grounds), but he wanders around anyway, listening and watching for some sign of him. Alberto's basement is his personal gym, Ethan knows this, and he doesn't want to intrude but it's the only place he really hasn't explored yet so he glances over his shoulder before heading quietly down the stairs.

It's dark, and quiet, but he just has a feeling, so he continues on down, peering around at the equipment... and the wrestling ring that someone is laying in the middle of, famliar blond hair gleaming in the faint sunshine coming through the windows. _Aha._ He walks forward and leans against the ropes, staring down at Spud. The man's lack of response sends an uncomfortable itch up Ethan's spine, but his eyes are open, and his breathing is soft and regular so Ethan refrains from panicking right away.

Entering the ring, he approaches Spud and lays down next to him, careful not to jostle him. Neither move for a few moments and finally the silence starts to kill Ethan. "Whatcha doin' down here?" he asks softly.

Spud doesn't respond immediately and Ethan _does_ almost start to worry before he answers, voice soft. "Reflecting. On everything this year has brought, good and bad."

Ethan tilts his head, looking over at him. "It's been a long year, huh?" He feels awful as Spud nods. The year before hadn't been much better, but at least back then they could pretend there was a light at the end of the tunnel. In the last twelve months, things had continued to snowball and snowball and snowball... Ethan closes his eyes and whispers, "I'm sorry for my part in all of it, Spud. I wanted to protect you from my aunt but..."

"I know you did, sir," Spud interjects, still quiet, still lost in his reflections. Ethan can only imagine what he's seeing, opting to give the man some quiet time to sort through all of this, quietly supporting him as best as he can. When Spud finally moves, his fingers entangling with Ethan's, Ethan jumps and then squeezes his hand. "I love you, sir," he says quietly.

"I love you too," Ethan breathes out. Their fingers are still curled together when Spud rolls over and rests his head on Ethan's chest, listening to his heart beating. To him breathing. Ethan releases a breath and strokes Spud's hair with his hand, marveling at how soft and thick it had grown back in after he'd shaved his head the March prior. "I promise, I'll do a better job of protecting you... of protecting _this_ , this year," he whispers, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the top of Spud's head.

"Of course you will, sir," Spud says, still trusting, still wholly loyal to Ethan. Despite everything.

Pressing a finger under Spud's jaw, Ethan tilts his face upwards and smiles at him, searching his soft blue eyes, before kissing him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Spud."

"Happy Valentine's Day, sir."

-x

Dolph sputters as Zack grabs his hand, dragging him outside. "Come on, bro! I know you've been slacking on leg day but you can move faster than this, can't you?" Zack's excitement is the only thing keeping Dolph from pulling free and slapping the back of his head until Zack stops short somewhere in the midst of the trees scattered around Alberto's property.

"You'd better not have gotten us lost, kid," Dolph grouses before Zack presses a finger to his lips, still searching.

"This way!" he exclaims, grabbing Dolph's hand once more and leading him at a slightly more sedate pace through some trees... until they find Alberto's hammock.

"Oh, kid, no," Dolph protests weakly, eyes widening as Zack lets him go and walks over to it. "Who knows what's been in that thing..."

"It looks fine!" Zack pokes at it a few more times before leaning into it, smoothly maneuvering around to lay down in it, looking entirely like a man of leisure. The sun shining down on him through the trees makes him look even more handsome as well, and Dolph swallows. "Are you coming, bro?" he wonders impatiently, laughing when Dolph finally inches forward.

"Del Rio's gonna kill us," he mutters, gripping the side of the hammock. With some help from Zack and a lot of wiggling and cursing, Dolph finally finds himself sprawled out next to Zack. "I'm afraid to move and upset this whole damn thing," he mumbles. Just for Zack to shift and roll over to face him. "Ahh! What are you doing?" Dolph demands, choosing to ignore just how high pitched his voice had gotten in that moment.

Zack chuckles and kisses him on the side of the mouth. "Proving to you we can move around a little and not have some huge catastrophic thing happen, bro."

"Clarify 'a little'," Dolph says, eyes narrowed as he examines Zack's face.

"A little like this," Zack says, leaning in and kissing him softly, slowly. Dolph grunts and reaches up, digging his fingers into the collar of Zack's shirt, hissing out a breath as he pulls away. "See? Not bad, right?"

"If this thing falls apart, I hope I land on you," Dolph huffs before cupping Zack's face and kissing him heatedly. It lasts for what somehow both feels like moments and eternities, the two of them only pulling away because they're trembling with the intensity of the moment and incapable of continuing it without a breather. 

"Maybe we should get one of these at the house," Zack rasps out as Dolph shifts awkwardly without upending the whole thing.

"We have the hot tub," Dolph mumbles, tracing meaningless circles against Zack's chest. "I don't feel like I'm going to fall and land on my head in it at least."

"If you don't like it here, we can find somewhere else to relax at. The pond or something," Zack offers, realizing that Dolph really _is_ that uncomfortable laying here. He's about to sit up when something stops him and he looks down to find Dolph holding him in place. "Bro..."

"You made me go to all of this trouble to get in here, I'm not moving until I'm rewarded sufficiently," Dolph announces, a challenge in his eyes.

Zack laughs. "Fine, bro. If you insist. But I think I still want one in the back yard." Before Dolph can formulate any sort of protest to this, Zack quiets him with another searching kiss, smirking as Dolph melts against him.

-x

Skirting past where Spud and Ethan are snuggling in the middle of Alberto's ring, Heath finds a door to the side and peeks inside, eyes lighting up. "Ah hell yeah," he mumbles, stepping inside and groaning as the heat from the sauna washes over his sore, worn body. Finding some towels, he trades one for his clothes and sprawls out on the floor, closing his eyes. "Damn, this is great," he breathes out sleepily. "I want one'a these..."

Heath smirks when he hears soft footsteps padding along the heated tiles. "I don't think you can fit one of these in our ridiculous little apartment," Wade says, kneeling down next to him. "I suppose we all needed some time to ourselves, hm?"

"Think so," Heath agrees, hissing out a breath as Wade leans over and kisses him between the shoulderblades. "Mm," he sighs. "Feels so good in here..."

"Yes, it does," Wade agrees before shifting and resting his hand against Heath's arm. "I have one question."

"What is it?" Heath mumbles, close to dozing off.

"Do you want me to start with your feet, or your neck?" Wade whispers into Heath's ear, smirking when his eyes open, then darkens.

"Brit, what?" But it's clear he's not going to explain or move without an answer so finally Heath shrugs. "Feet... I guess." Wade moves down and _finally_ Heath gets some idea of what he means when he presses his fingers into the arch of Heath's foot, massaging with just the right amount of pressure. " _Oh,_ " Heath hisses out. "Oh my God, Brit- What-"

"You've been babying me for weeks now while I rehab my neck, it's time someone made you feel about as good," Wade says, working over Heath's foot and slowly making his way up to his ankle. "Not very fair, that, considering how busy you've been with Social Outcasts, so this is me trying to repay you a little."

"You don't... you don't need to repay," Heath hisses out, his words fading into a soft moan when Wade finds a tight spot on his calf, kneading it and many other painful spots out until Heath has lost all sense of speech, awareness of where he's at, what's going on. Wade's fingers press against his knees, his thighs, along his back up to his shoulders. From there, he explores Heath's inked arms, massaging out every painful muscle that he can find. Finally Heath finds his voice when Wade eases him over and stares into his eyes. "That was... fantastic," he sighs. "Brit..."

Wade chuckles and settles down next to Heath, pulling the ginger close to him. "Happy Valentine's Day, ginger."

"It is now," Heath mumbles, snuggling closer to Wade. "Do you think Alberto would mind if we come over a couple of times just to use his sauna?"

Wade laughs. "Unfortunately, yes. I think he would mind."

Heath grunts, unhappy but knowing that he's right. "Sofia would probably be willing though," he sighs, nuzzling under Wade's jaw and relaxing as his fingers play with Heath's soft hair.


End file.
